April 4, 2013: Police respond after a teen's dog is shot by her neighbor.
(myfoxdetroit.com)

Police say a man who shot and killed his teenage neighbor's pet Chihuahua told them he felt he was being attacked by the dog because it was not on a leash.

MyFoxDetroit.com reports the 14-year-old says she let her one-year-old dog, named "JoJo," out into the yard and then went back inside. The girl claims the neighbor told her to put the dog back in the house.

"When he saw my dog running out of the bushes, [he said], 'I'm going to handle him myself,' and then I guess my dog had run back up on him again, and he just shot him," the teen told MyFoxDetroit.com.

Police say the neighbor had a license to carry a gun and said he felt attacked by the dog, which was not on a leash. However, the teen says she thinks his claims are not true.

"[He] couldn't have [felt] threatened at all by this little Chihuahua," she said.. "[The] dog is not big at all."

An official from a local dog rescue tells MyFoxDetroit.com the incident is a sad reminder that owners should always keep their dogs on leashes to maintain control over their pets.